2022 was a year of political splintering in Wyoming; (click here) a year in which the effects of the Colorado River water crisis traveled upstream to the state’s river banks; a year when a “trigger” law banning most abortions boiled over into a debate about the fundamental rights of Wyoming residents.
Though the Republican Party continued to consolidate power in this ultra-red state, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney was ousted in a high-profile takedown after turning against former President Donald Trump. Intra-party tensions, meanwhile, deepened longstanding divisions in the party.
Wildlife managers had their hands full as chronic wasting disease continued its insidious spread, ungulates overran private land and development plans collided with wildlife values. The consequences of budget cuts to mental and behavioral health resources grew more troubling with an uptick in violence and use of restraints at the Wyoming Boys’ School as well as reported crises within school communities. Resignations from top offices led to accusations of political allegiance trumping experience or qualifications in the appointment process. And four Missouri hunters, a checkerboard pattern of land ownership and a heated debate over what constitutes trespass turned into a national story of inaccessible public land....
...As Wyoming’s lone representative in the House of Representatives, Liz Cheney voted with former President Donald Trump 93% of the time. The staunch conservative and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was popular in Wyoming through her first four years in office. But following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Cheney launched an unsparing if lonely campaign to repudiate and hold Trump accountable for his role in inciting the crowds.
Cheney quickly began to lose favor of the Republican Party, which censured her on county, state and national levels. Trump placed her squarely in his cross-hairs, hand-picking Cheyenne attorney Harriet Hageman to unseat Cheney in the August primary. What ensued was an increasingly public spat and a Wyoming political race that drew international curiosity as people wondered: Would Cheney’s disloyalty to Trump cost her her job?
In ultra-red Wyoming, where some voters wondered if she was too focused on Jan. 6 work and others said they lost interest in the cause, the answer appeared to be yes. Hageman easily ousted Cheney, winning nearly 70% of primary votes....
The work the January 6th Committee did is proving to be correct, laudable and legally intact. It is exceptional work by a US House Committee, a group of legislators that love their country, its democracy and its Constitution. They have every reason to be proud.
I find it unfortunate, the Republican Party remains divisive in their radical rhetoric and politics. It is not the time for division of loyalties. The Party does not take precedent over the USA Constitution. They are wrong and Liz Cheney as well as Adam Kinzinger are national heroes along with the other members. Shame on the GOP for being irreverent to their own country's constitution. It brings Republican politics scrutiny.
Judge: Jan. 6 committee evidence suggests Trump asked rally crowd to break the law
The Jan. 6 select committee’s finding that Donald Trump lured followers (click here) to storm the Capitol does not absolve them of legal responsibility for their actions, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, the first opinion to cite the congressional panel’s criminal referrals of the former president.
U.S. District Court Judge John Bates cited the select committee’s report and criminal referrals to swat down a Jan. 6 defendant’s claim that he believed Trump had authorized him and other rioters to enter the Capitol when he urged the crowd to march down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Bates, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ruled that defendant Alexander Sheppard should be prohibited from making the “public authority” defense because there’s simply no evidence Trump told his followers that entering the restricted grounds of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was legal. In fact, his incendiary rhetoric — especially telling his supporters to “fight like hell” — may suggest Trump was asking them to break the law, Bates said.
His words “could signal to protesters that entering the Capitol and stopping the certification would be unlawful,” Bates found.
Bates’ ruling is the first to reckon with the select committee’s finding that Trump violated at least four federal laws in his crusade to subvert the 2020 election. And it is an early window into how the judiciary might interpret the unusual findings of criminal violations by a congressional committee....
December 28, 2022
By Kyle Cheney
U.S. District Court Judge John Bates cited the select committee’s report and criminal referrals to swat down a Jan. 6 defendant’s claim that he believed Trump had authorized him and other rioters to enter the Capitol when he urged the crowd to march down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Bates, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ruled that defendant Alexander Sheppard should be prohibited from making the “public authority” defense because there’s simply no evidence Trump told his followers that entering the restricted grounds of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was legal. In fact, his incendiary rhetoric — especially telling his supporters to “fight like hell” — may suggest Trump was asking them to break the law, Bates said.
His words “could signal to protesters that entering the Capitol and stopping the certification would be unlawful,” Bates found.
Bates’ ruling is the first to reckon with the select committee’s finding that Trump violated at least four federal laws in his crusade to subvert the 2020 election. And it is an early window into how the judiciary might interpret the unusual findings of criminal violations by a congressional committee....
